Thoughts on 5 Films

1. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple - I don't know if I say this enough, but I fucking LOVE Jack O'Connell. It's insane that he didn't become a major star after Unbroken. I think that's finally changing after his performance in Sinners - I see a lot of love for him now and Americans finally know who he is. And he's picked up some big franchise films for next year, so I think he's finally on the A-list where he belongs! I have a massive crush on him (surprise, surprise...), but I honestly think he's an incredible actor (just like my other two massive celebrity crushes - Taron Egerton and James McAvoy). I was disappointed with 28 Years Later because I expected it to star O'Connell and it doesn't (he's only in the last few minutes, setting up for this sequel) but I still liked the film. I loved this one though. And it is O'Connell's film - he is OUTSTANDING as this villainous cult leader Sir Jimmy Crystal (who is modeled after a British media personality Jimmy Savile - someone most Americans have never heard of). He's super fucking psychotic and charismatic at the same time, and not a lot of actors can pull that off. And he may be up there with being among the best film villains of all time? And also, Ralph Fiennes is SO GOOD. I love his scenes with Samson - the alpha zombie. But the highlight is the 3rd act in which Fiennes and O'Connell go head-to-head. The entire "devil" scene is incredible and the way Fiennes leans into this persona is hilarious (and LOL at playing Iron Maiden. It's so perfect). I was engrossed in the whole film - loved every second of it only for my husband to declare it "even worse than the previous one". WHAT?! Anyway, I was surprised that the return of Cillian Murphy is reserved for the very end. Sorry, I don't think that's a spoiler as it was heavily advertised that he was returning to the franchise. And he will probably be in the 3rd one (or technically 5th one?). I think my only criticism is that some of the gore and the violence does feel purely for shock value, but I also think that's the point of all of this - to show the inhumanity and pointlessness of this world that is created. I also think that Spike (played by Alfie Williams) is a bit too sidelined. He's the reason we should care about this world and they give him very little to do. Overall, though, I'm very impressed with this - it's the first Nia DaCosta film I've liked since Little Woods. 

2. Crime 101 - This is WAY better than I was expecting. I thought it was going to be a satisfying but cliched crime thriller, which it is - but it's also introspective and character driven in a way that most crime thrillers are not. First of all, I like this cast, but I don't necessarily think they are right for these parts. I've come around to Chris Hemsworth, but I don't think he should lead films. Halle Berry is actually good in this - THANK GOD (she hasn't been good in....a while) but, to cast her as an aging woman who men don't see value in is RIDICULOUS. Sure, she's 53 now but she's still one of the most beautiful women on the planet. Men still ADORE her. Mark Ruffalo is really gunning for the Columbo role, isn't he? He keeps doing these gruff detective roles lately and it's becoming boring. But the most egregious casting offense here is Barry Keoghan in a role in which he barely has any lines and the only character the audience doesn't get to know. This is a perfect role for a newcomer to break into a big film, but Barry is NOT a newcomer??? He was nominated for an Oscar just a few years ago! What the fuck is happening?? (I would say the same for Monica Barbaro, but she was nominated just last year for an Oscar, and this movie was likely already in production - hopefully she's getting bigger roles now). And finally, why cast Jennifer Jason Leigh in your film to give her one very unimportant scene? It's all just weird. But, aside from the cast, I think this is a really good character study about the choices that people make and how doing bad things doesn't necessarily make a person bad. I was entertained. 

3. Pizza Movie - This is a cute and funny teen comedy. It's a genre that is getting wiped out (and yes, I do blame political correctness on this a bit - young people don't know how to be funny and woke at the same time so they just avoid it all together). I mean, I can't even think of the last one prior to this? Maybe Booksmart but that was 7 years ago? The Mean Girls remake? I guess that can be considered, but I think that was made for people who are older and nostalgic for the original. Oh wait - I know - it was that Y2K movie that bombed (and also one can argue it was made for nostalgia and not for teens of today). Anyway, I think this is good for what it is. It's a dumb stoner movie for Gen Alpha & younger Gen Zers. It's basically Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, except it's about two high college kids trying to get pizza delivered. I watched this because I really like the kid from The Goldbergs (Sean Giambrone) - I think he's genuinely a very funny person. I'm not as big on the kid from Stranger Things (Gaten Matarazzo), but they have good buddy chemistry together. Also, the girl looked extremely familiar to me and then I realized that she's the girl that's covered in blood on the Becky poster - a film that I have never seen, but that poster is something. And the guy that plays the villainous RA is kind of hot?! Obviously too young for me, but HOT. He's so completely over-the-top as this villain, but I dig it. He's giving it his all for this dumb-ass movie and I respect it! A lot of it is dumb, but there are some extremely funny parts like the exploding heads scene ("it's a British drug, cunt is allowed" I DIED) and when he switches bodies with his pet butterfly (that sentence sounds super weird out of context) and he chants "I crave nectar" (also fun fact: Daniel Radcliffe voices the butterfly LOL). It's trippy and fun and destined to be a cult classic (if those exist anymore). 

4. It Was Just an Accident - *some spoilers* This is fantastic. A quiet but intense story about revenge, forgiveness, empathy and humanity. I was skeptical in the beginning because this family in the car hit a dog, killing it, and I thought "welp I hate you and I hope you die", but then we find out that this man tortured people and we're supposed to hate him. The story takes quite a turn that I wasn't expecting (I knew nothing about it going in). The mechanic who is fixing his car after the dog incident realizes that he's his past tormentor and kidnaps him. But then he's not 100% sure that it's him so he has to recruit others that were tortured to identify him. Obviously there is a lot of political history behind it - the group are Iranian political prisoners. But even without all of that, it's still a really interesting story - and a bit like Sleepers (one of my favorite films ever). It's a really well-made film too, with some very memorable imagery - the fact that one of them is in a wedding dress the whole time makes it extremely interesting visually. I love that the story turns to this man's family and that the mechanic still helps them - there's this fine line of killing a monster without becoming a monster that is straddled here and it is perfection.  The ending is chilling. If I were in this situation though, I would just let the guy in the blue shirt handle it - he seems confident enough and angry enough to justify whatever actions he deems appropriate. 

5. The Testament of Ann Lee - A few things about this movie piqued my interest - I'm a big fan of Amanda Seyfried and her performance in this gained Oscar buzz (but didn't pan out), it's directed and co-written by Mona Fastvold - who is Brady Corbet's partner (and he co-wrote this as well). She co-wrote a few of Brady's films so I'm interested in her taking the directing lead, and it's a musical! I'm well aware that the religious aspect is going to either bore me to death or anger me, but I went in with as much of an open mind as possible. Also, I have no idea who Ann Lee is (again, religious figures are not something I paid attention to), so maybe I'll learn something! Overall, I liked this. It's not necessarily my vibe, but it's incredibly made, the sound design is fantastic, the musical interludes are so captivating, the choreography is stunning, and Amanda Seyfried definitely deserved some love from the Academy, even though her accent is a little spotty. The story is good - this woman basically becomes a cult leader (all religions are a cult) after all four of her children die as infants. She thought that God was punishing her for having sex, so she started a religious movement that was based on celibacy. It's fascinating to learn how cults start and how people get so easily duped into following them. The ending is absolutely horrific (it ends how all other religious persecution type stories end - very badly). I do think that if told in a typical fashion, this story would have bored me to death, but Fastvold made such a visually interesting film that I was fascinated.